Ideal length for the first book in a new series?

[CountVanBadger]

I'm releasing XNPC on February 1st, so get hyped. But I was looking around at some reviews for popular litrpgs, and one thing I saw more than once was "It's too long for the first book in the series." XNPC is currently 195,972 words long (roughly 783 pages) and I'm still adding to it. So, two questions:

1. Do you think there's a certain length the first book in a series shouldn't go past?
2. Has XNPC gone past that length?

 

[Envylope]

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
Really a novel should not go much more than 550 pages at max. My volumes are usually around 50-70k words.

The only benefit to longer volumes is they become a more useful weapon with more physical pages.

 

[CountVanBadger]

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
Really a novel should not go much more than 550 pages at max. My volumes are usually around 50-70k words.

I wouldn't mind turning it into two books, but I don't really have a spot where I could split the book and still have a whole book's worth of story.

 

[Envylope]

I wouldn't mind turning it into two books, but I don't really have a spot where I could split the book and still have a whole book's worth of story.

I would consider finding one. Also, amazon has some kind of page limit if you want physical copies or something. You will have to get it to around 500ish. I am not sure about the details. But @Representing_Tromba knows. He published his book on Amazon.

 

[L1aei]

May I ask whether these books are going to be transitioned onto a market?

 

[CountVanBadger]

May I ask whether these books are going to be transitioned onto a market?

Eventually, hopefully. I'm going to go the usual route of uploading for free with a Patreon account, but I hope my audience will grow big enough that I can transition to KU and print.

 

[L1aei]

Eventually, hopefully. I'm going to go the usual route of uploading for free with a Patreon account, but I hope my audience will grow big enough that I can transition to KU and print.

Then, double-yes. Listen to @Envylope .

 

[Eldoria]

Does this book refer to a volume of series that can have multiple volumes? If yes, a volume is indeed limited by the publishing format. Each publishing platform may have a different format.

For example, a light novel is limited to around 40k-60k words, or about 300 pages per volume. So, the length of a volume depends on where you publish it.

 

[Thraksius]

I accidentally made the first volume of Trials of the Jötunn, a novel I’m writing, 312,806 words long—and it’s doing fairly well. (I only recently started posting it on this site.)

I wouldn’t worry too much about the length of a volume—just focus on writing as well as you can.

 

[L1aei]

I accidentally made the first volume of Trials of the Jötunn, a novel I’m writing, 312,806 words long—and it’s doing fairly well. (I only recently started posting it on this site.)

I wouldn’t worry too much about the length of a volume—just focus on writing as well as you can.

I'd say the same unless it was to be marketed; that makes a big difference in sales.

 

[CountVanBadger]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how many toys can I expect the average litrpg reader to throw out of the pram if I try to pass off the first half of a book as a complete book in and of itself?

That came out kind of weird, so think of it like this: imagine if the first Star Wars movie ended right as Luke and Ben boarded the Millennium Falcon and took off, with the rest of the story (rescuing Leia, Ben fighting Vader, destroying the Death Star) happening in the next movie. Now imagine that it was a litrpg book on the internet. How mad would that make people?

 

[Envylope]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how many toys can I expect the average litrpg reader to throw out of the pram if I try to pass off the first half of a book as a complete book in and of itself?

That came out kind of weird, so think of it like this: imagine if the first Star Wars movie ended right as Luke and Ben boarded the Millennium Falcon and took off, with the rest of the story (rescuing Leia, Ben fighting Vader, destroying the Death Star) happening in the next movie. Now imagine that it was a litrpg book on the internet. How mad would that make people?

It wont make people mad if the story is a single continuation. Physical book readers might get mad, but that's why you bundle them together with a discount to scam...ahem, make them glad to buy both in a deal.

 

[Eldoria]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how many toys can I expect the average litrpg reader to throw out of the pram if I try to pass off the first half of a book as a complete book in and of itself?

That came out kind of weird, so think of it like this: imagine if the first Star Wars movie ended right as Luke and Ben boarded the Millennium Falcon and took off, with the rest of the story (rescuing Leia, Ben fighting Vader, destroying the Death Star) happening in the next movie. Now imagine that it was a litrpg book on the internet. How mad would that make people?

Isn't it common to make a cliffhanger ending or open ending as the closing of a vol (epilogue)?!

 

[L1aei]

Isn't it common to make a cliffhanger ending or open ending as the closing of a vol (epilogue)?!

Not always. I mean... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone didn't end on a cliffhanger or promised more adventures; that book could've been a standalone.

 

[CountVanBadger]

Not always. I mean... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone didn't end on a cliffhanger or promised more adventures; that book could've been a standalone.

So could the first Star Wars movie. Vader is still alive and the Emperor hasn't even been introduced, but blowing up the Death Star and leaving the story open ended about what happens next could have served as a perfectly satisfying standalone film.

 

[Arkus86]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how many toys can I expect the average litrpg reader to throw out of the pram if I try to pass off the first half of a book as a complete book in and of itself?

That came out kind of weird, so think of it like this: imagine if the first Star Wars movie ended right as Luke and Ben boarded the Millennium Falcon and took off, with the rest of the story (rescuing Leia, Ben fighting Vader, destroying the Death Star) happening in the next movie. Now imagine that it was a litrpg book on the internet. How mad would that make people?

That really depends at what point of the story you end it, and how you wrap it. Open ending is perfectly fine. Cliffhanger is not, but if you manage it to present it well, people won't lynch you.

 

[Grizzly18]

I’d say yes it’s a little long. Not every book needs to end after an amazing climax. Zogarth the guy who writes The Primal Hunter on Royalroad ends his books wherever he can to get it published by Amazon. It works out for him because he’s on book 15 and still writing so the story doesn’t feel so disjointed. I’d say cut the story in half and release both books right after the other. Most likely the people who read your book on Kindle are going to be your fans from here and maybe wherever else you post your story.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Sonic fanfic length of 34 million words

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Since you plan to release it through KU eventually, yeah, it's gone past the limit as stated above.
You really should only go longer than that if you are releasing it as serial fiction (and even then, longer works tend to be broken up into "books" of a set length, much like J. R. R. Tolkien did with his "Lord of the Rings" way back when).

Sonic fanfic length of 34 million words

I'd be impressed with 3400 words of fan fiction for a fast food restaurant chain...